1. Field of the Invention
A twistlock for engaging a freight container to a load carrier for transport having a handle positioner which limits turning of a locking stem of the twistlock to two difference angles. The handle positioner is located inside the twistlock housing and is designed so that it can selectively control the movement of the operating handle to lock and unlock the twistlock, either to the left or the right of the open position of the operating handle.
2. Prior Art
Twistlocks to lock down freight containers to ships, rail cars, road chassis and other load carriers such as flatracks, have been in use since the design of the ISO freight container some 49 years ago. It has always been important to know if the twistlock is locked or unlocked to the freight container when in service. One of the possibilities for determining whether the twistlock is locked or unlocked has been to observe the position of the locking handle. On a road chassis, that typically has four or eight locks equally spaced on both sides of the vehicle, it is desirable that the locking handle point out to the adjacent side of the carrier when unlocked and either forward or to the rear of the carrier when locked. Due to the fact that twistlocks on load carriers for road operation must be fitted and operated from each side of the carrier, the twistlocks have been made both right locking and left locking. The manufacturer of the load carrier decides if the handle should point forward or to the rear when locked, but in either case, half of the locks have been made right locking and half, left locking.